Key Points :
- Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti is being released after being in preventive detention for more than 14 months.
- The PDP leader, who was charged under the Public Safety Act (PSA), had been held in house arrest since April 2020.
- Former CM and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah has also tweeted about it happily welcoming Mehbooba Mufti’s release.
Right after 2 weeks after the Supreme Court asked the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) administration if the former Chief Minister’s detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA) can be extended beyond a year , Mehbooba Mufti has been released.
J&K government spokesman Rohit Kansal said on Tuesday,
PDP President and former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti is being released after being in preventive detention for more than 14 months.
Mehbooba Mufti, along with other political leaders of Jammu and Kashmir, was detained on the evening of the abrogation of J&K’s special status and its bifurcation into Union Territories on August 5 last year.
The PDP leader, who was charged under the Public Safety Act (PSA), had been held in house arrest since April 2020, after seven months of being detained in a government facility on the outskirts of Srinagar.
Mufti’s release comes two weeks after the Supreme Court asked the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) administration if the former CM’s detention can be extended beyond a year and, if so, “how long do you propose to extend it”. The bench had fixed the next date of hearing on (October 15, Thursday).
The Supreme Court was hearing a plea filed by Mufti’s daughter Iltija against her mother’s continued detention. In an interview to The Indian Express, Iltija Mufti had said her mother’s detention forced her to speak up against all that has unfolded in Kashmir over the last year.
She also tweeted from Mufti’s account,
“As Ms Mufti’s illegal detention finally comes to an end, I’d like to thank everybody who supported me in these tough times. I owe a debt of gratitude to you all. This is Iltija signing off.”
As Ms Mufti’s illegal detention finally comes to an end, Id like to thank everybody who supported me in these tough times. I owe a debt of gratitude to you all. This is Iltija signing off. فی امان اﷲ May allah protect you
— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) October 13, 2020
Former CM and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said welcoming her release : “I’m pleased to hear that Mehbooba Mufti Sahiba has been released after more than a year in detention. Her continued detention was a travesty and was against the basic tenets of democracy.”
I’m pleased to hear that @MehboobaMufti Sahiba has been released after more than a year in detention. Her continued detention was a travesty & was against the basic tenets of democracy. Welcome out Mehbooba.
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) October 13, 2020
In March, after nearly 7 months of rigorous efforts made, the National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and vice-president Omar Abdullah were released from detention.
Right after a month of this release, in June,
two senior members of the People’s Democratic Party and former bureaucrat-turned-politician Shah Faesal were also released.
